


The Magical Tree at Hyde Park

by Mystic_Harley



Series: Short Trips Series 1: The Golden Trio [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, Harry being a good guy, One Shot, POV Outsider, Pre-Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-08 17:41:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19475509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystic_Harley/pseuds/Mystic_Harley
Summary: Mary-Anne had wandered off too far this time. Her mummy had warned her not to wander too far but she was an explorer at heart, and she loved animals. When all hope seems lost, she meets an older and kind boy named Harry, and he shows her something amazing.Tiny little stick people, living in a tree at Hyde Park.





	The Magical Tree at Hyde Park

Mary-Anne like going to town with her mummy. She didn’t quite understand what her mummy’s job was, she had been told once but the words had flown over her head at the time. All she remembered was that it kept her mummy very busy, and that it left her distracted.

Mummy was often distracted, and Mary-Anne was something of an explorer. She loved seeing new things and learning all about them. Of course, sometimes she could lose her mummy but she always knew where she was, deep down. Mary-Anne was ‘observant’, they said. She learned that word in school, and they said it was a big girl word. She was proud that she knew a big girl word.

They were at the park that day, Hyde Park specifically. Mary-Anne loved going to Hyde Park, it was always so big! Even though mummy said not to wander off too much, there was so much to look at! Everytime Mary-Anne came to Hyde Park, she learned something new.

Standing near the lake, Mary-Anne watched the geese swim around the water and honk at each other in total delight. She loved animals, and she wished that one day her mummy would take her to the zoo to see all of the cool animals!

“Mummy!” She called out, wheeling around and expecting to see her mummy sitting on the bench still. She frowned when she realized her mummy wasn’t there. She walked over to the bench, looking around curiously. “Mummy? Mummy!” She called out, feeling a sense of dread and fear well up in her heart.

Where had her mummy gone? Mary-Anne felt tears well up at her eyes and she called out desperately for her mummy. Had her mummy left her? Was it because she wandered too far and she was a bad girl? Before she knew it, Mary-Anne was sitting on the bench and crying her poor heart out. Deep in her heart she wished someone would come to help her.

“Excuse me?” She sniffed, wiping her face on her sleeve and looking up at the voice. A boy was hovering near the bench, a concerned frown on his face. What caught Mary-Anne’s attention the most was his beautiful emerald green eyes and beneath the fringes of his hair, a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt. “I couldn’t help but notice you seem rather sad, may I ask what’s wrong?”

Mummy had always told her to be wary of strangers. She shifted on the bench, blinking away her tears and wondering if this boy could be trusted. “M-My mummy… I lost my mummy…” She mumbled.

The boy’s frown deepened. “I’m so sorry about that. Would you like me to help look for your mummy?” Mary-Anne tried to search his face, looking for any signs of deception, but the only thing in his beautiful eyes was concern.

Still, that didn’t mean she trusted him. “My mummy said to be wary of strangers…”

The boy laughed, nodding his head and standing up now. “Your mummy’s a smart woman! My name is Harry, may I sit?” He indicated the bench next to Mary-Anne, and she nodded once. Sitting down, Harry offered her a kind smile and held out a newspaper, with big fat delicious chips wrapped around it. “Would you like some?”

He must have seen the skeptical look on her face, and he chuckled again. “Tell you what, if I do anything naughty, you can kick me and punch me and scream at me all you like and call the bobbies, deal?”

It did sound like a good deal. She didn’t know how to call the bobbies but she knew that boys like Harry would get in big trouble for doing bad stuff to girls like her. Satisfied, she took a few chips and munched on them, giving him a furtive glance. “My name is Mary-Anne.”

“Mary-Anne.” Harry repeated, as if trying the words out for the first time. “That’s a good name. Do you know what your mummy looks like? I have really good eyes, you see.” He tapped his glasses and gave a conspiratorial wink.

She tilted her head a little. “Why do you have glasses then?” Gasping suddenly at that, she clapped a hand over her mouth. That was awfully rude of her to say, but to her amazement, Harry just laughed!

“My eyes are only good at seeing stuff really close up without my glasses. If I take my glasses off, your face becomes all blurry and fuzzy. With my glasses on though, I can see just about everything here.”

Mary-Anne gaped at Harry in astonishment, could he really see everything with his glasses? She shifted on her seat again, remembering that he had asked her a question. “My mummy has um, brown hair like mine…. She was wearing a pretty blue shirt and pants… mmmm…” She took another chip, munching on it and folding her arms, kicking her feet in the air a little. “Oh! She has a clipboard, she always has a clipboard when she works.” She nodded in satisfaction at that, and stole a curious look up at Harry. “Can you really see her from here?”

Harry’s smile was nice, Mary-Anne decided. It lit up his whole face and made his eyes stand out more. It was a shame that he wore glasses, she thought. He would look even prettier without them. “I can. I’ll tell you what, I’ll prove to you that my eyes are something special.” He slipped off the bench and crouched down, beckoning her to join him. Mary-Anne hopped down and moved next to Harry.

He pointed off towards a big tree a few feet away from them. “Do you see that tree? Well, what if I told you that there were adorable little twig-people living at the tree?” Her eyes widened in wonder, and Harry nodded seriously. “It’s true, I can see them. They’re moving their tiny little limbs along the base of the tree. Would you like to see?”

What kind of question was that? Of course she would like to see! She nodded enthusiastically, and followed Harry towards the great big tree. “Now, they’re difficult to spot.” He told her, crouching at the base of the tree and pulling out a stick from his pocket. He prodded the bark softly, and smiled. “You have to screw your eyes up tight and concentrate, and when your open your eyes again, you’ll see them. Like this.”

He scrunched up his face and squeezed his eyes shut, and Mary-Anne giggled at that. He was being so silly, and he cracked his eye open at her and smiled a little. “Try it!” She nodded, scrunching up her face, squeezing her eyes and wrinkled up her nose.

After a few seconds of waiting, she heard Harry’s voice. “You can open then Mary-Anne.” Opening her eyes, she gasped in shock at the sight before her. There, crawling neatly along the bark, were little sticks! She could see their sharp little fangs poking from it’s tiny tiny mouth and the leaves on its head rustling softly. It’s feet looked like roots.

“Wow…” She breathed, not daring to move for fear of disturbing the creatures. She watched as they scaled up the tree and crawl along the branches, the sunlight pouring in through the leaves and making their glow a little thanks to the spot. She watched as they plucked the leaves from the trees and nibble on them, and she wondered if they could speak, and she watched as one of them locked their brown eyes onto her and shied away slightly, hiding behind one of the branches. “I won’t hurt you.” She whispered softly. “I promise.”

“Mary-Anne!” Wrenched from her thoughts, she wheeled around and squealed in delight when her mummy scooped her up and hugged her tightly. “Mary-Anne thank goodness! Oh, I told you not to wander off too far!”

“I’m sorry Mummy, really!” She hugged her mummy tightly, feeling relief wash over her. “I-I am! Really! I didn’t mean to wander off so far…” Tears welled in her eyes again, but her mummy wiped her eyes and hugged her close.

“I should’ve paid more attention… we’re both at fault. I’m just glad you’re safe.” Pulling away from her daughter, her mummy smiled gratefully at Harry. “Thank you for finding her for me young man, I was worried sick.”

“It’s no trouble at all, ma’am.” Harry said politely, a faint blush creeping up his cheeks. “Just doing what I can to help. I know what it’s like to be all alone in a strange place. It’s the least I could do.”

“Harry gave me some of his chips, Mummy, and he showed me a cool animal!” Mary-Anne chipped in, beaming at Harry, who rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly.

“Did he now? Well then…” Digging into her purse, her mummy ignored Harry’s protests as she handed him a few bills. “I don’t want to hear any of it, you just buy yourself a nice lunch today, alright?”

Spluttering, Mary-Anne watched as Harry bowed his head in defeat and pocketed the money. “Thank you, really.” He said.

Worming her way out of her mummy’s grip, Mary-Anne went over and hugged Harry’s leg. “Thank you Harry.” She told him, and gave him a bright and happy smile. Harry smiled back at her, and gently tousled her hair.

“No need to thank me Mary-Anne. I’ll leave you two be for now.” He laughed as she scrunched up her face at him and fixed her hair. Turning, he waved goodbye to the mother and daughter, and soon he was lost among the people going about their daily lives.

Turning her attention back to the tree, Mary-Anne tried to find the stick people again, until her mummy tugged her away. “Why don’t we get some ice cream and you can tell me all about how Harry kept you company, huh?”

Forgetting all about the little stick people hiding among the trees, Mary-Anne enthusiastically agreed and pulled her mummy along towards the ice cream stand, eager to tell her all about the amazing adventure she had with Harry.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a bit of an experiment I'm trying, I want to write a bunch of short trips featuring HP characters and I want it to be something of a series! Reviews and comments are always appreciated, and the next Short Trip will be featuring Hermione


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